Distressed Property Sales Fell During May

From April to May of this year, distressed sales dropped from 37 percent to 31 percent of all sales. Banks are pushing short sales since they already have a large supply of REO properties, but are also pushing REO sales due to new sales incentives from lenders and government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). This article looks at the issue of distressed property disposal from different angles. Mortgage market analyst Mark Hanson says that both lenders and Realtors are afraid that buyers will not be able to qualify for loans once the Qualified Residential Mortgage (QRM) rules are in place, which will require 20 percent down payments. See more.

SOURCE: CNBC, 6/21/11